Chapter 9: Brotherly Encounter and Noted Absences
It was exactly 11:10 AM on Thursday when Léo, with his bag of warm pancakes, surprised Joey in the alley beside the library.
Joey's heart leaped like a startled bird, and the blood drained from his face.
His social phobia screamed internally; being caught red-handed, especially by his curious and outgoing brother, was one of his worst nightmares.
All his carefully constructed anonymity felt shattered.
"Léo! W-what are you doing here?" Joey stammered, instinctively backing away, his body language betraying his urge to hide whatever Léo might have seen.
Léo raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile starting to form on his lips. "I should be asking you that! I came to buy pancakes at the corner bakery. But what about you? Making a cultural visit to the library under renovation on a Saturday morning? And why in the back alley?"
(Joey internally flinched at "Saturday"—was Léo confused or just teasing? Or was he losing track? The added layer of disorientation didn't help his racing thoughts.)
He glanced at the spot where Joey had been moments before. "Looking for the 'elf' too, little brother?"
Joey's mind raced for a plausible excuse, his thoughts a jumbled mess.
"No! I was just... looking for... a shortcut. To... to nowhere."
The excuse sounded pathetic even to his own ears, his inner critic agreeing with how foolish he must appear.
"Shortcut to nowhere, in the alley of the library where they say the 'elf' hides, and where you were crouched doing who-knows-what," Léo enumerated, his curiosity clearly overcoming any intention to just mock.
"Come on, Joey? What were you up to?"
From his observation post, Kael watched the interaction between the brothers with interest. Joey's discomfort was evident, as was Léo's genuine curiosity.
The Tracker cataloged another piece of data: Joey wasn't working alone, or at least, his actions were attracting the attention of his family.
Inside the dark, abandoned cinema, Lyra heard the nearby male voices. She shrank further into the shadows, her heart tight.
Were they more curious humans? Or perhaps hostile? The kindness of the young man from the previous night (Joey) was an exception, she feared.
"I wasn't up to anything, Léo," Joey insisted, trying for a firmer voice though inwardly he was panicking and just wanted to escape the confrontation.
"I was just... looking. I like... quiet places." This was true, quiet places were a refuge for his need for security.
Léo sighed, realizing he wouldn't get a straight answer from his brother so easily.
"Alright, Joey. Quiet places. Right. But if you see anything like... silver hair or pointy ears, let me know, okay? I don't want to miss the chance to meet a real ET."
He winked and went on his way, swinging the bag of pancakes. "Try not to get lost on your 'shortcut to nowhere'!"
Joey let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding, his shoulders slumping in relief.
That was close. Léo didn't seem to have seen the cereal bars, but his suspicion had certainly increased, which was a new source of worry for Joey.
He glanced one more time at the gap where he'd left the food and quickened his pace to get out of there, feeling the imaginary stares of Kael (who he didn't know was there) and the nearby presence of Lyra (whom he only suspected).
The scrutiny, even imagined, was almost unbearable.
"Excuse me."
The voice was calm, formal, and feminine. It wasn't his mother's, nor was it Lyra's. Joey froze, his entire body tense. The last thing his overloaded mind wanted was another unexpected social interaction. Slowly, he turned.
It was the young woman from the alley, the one he had saved from the thugs. She stood there, a few meters away, observing him with an analytical curiosity. Her posture was composed, her face a mask of mature politeness, the same stoic facade she wore like a shield. Joey recognized her instantly—the stunning beauty, the aura of defiant calm. And then, another realization hit him: he didn't know her name. He had told her his, but she, in her distant formality, had not introduced herself.
"I-I..." Joey stammered, his gaze immediately falling to his own shoes, unable to meet hers. His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic rhythm of social anxiety.
"I hope I'm not bothering you," Mai said, her posture perfectly composed, the stoic celebrity facade firmly in place. "We met before. You helped me." Her voice was even, but her observant eyes analyzed Joey's every micro-expression, every tremor in his hands.
"I-It was nothing," he managed to murmur, the desire to simply phase through the wall and disappear almost overwhelming.
"On the contrary," Mai insisted, taking a cautious step into the alley, maintaining a respectful distance. "It was quite significant. I wanted to thank you properly." She paused. "And, I confess, I'm a bit lost."
Joey's mind was a whirlwind. She was lost too? Like Lyra? The analytical part of his mind warred fiercely with his paralyzing panic.
"I... I have to go," he said hastily, already turning to leave the alley.
"Joey? Honey, are you coming? Lunch is almost ready!" His mother Clara's voice called from the street, clear and close.
Joey froze in place, caught between the need to obey his mother and the terror of explaining the stranger in his company.
Leo, who hadn't gone far and heard his mother's call, turned back just in time to see the scene: his awkward brother, pale as a ghost, standing before an incredibly beautiful and elegant girl he had never seen before. A teasing and genuinely curious grin spread across his face.
"Whoa, Joey!" Leo called out, approaching again. "My bad, didn't mean to interrupt." He glanced from his brother to Mai with a twinkle in his eye. "Why don't you bring your girlfriend along? Mom made plenty."
If it were possible, Joey would have turned even paler. The blush that followed was violent, creeping from his neck to the roots of his hair. "Sh-she's not... we're not... Leo, shut up!" he hissed, the words tumbling over each other in a mortified whisper.
Mai Sakurajima, however, remained the epitome of calm. She didn't blush, didn't waver. Her neutral, polite expression didn't change, though her observant eyes registered the dynamic between the brothers and Joey's absolute panic. Being put in an awkward social situation was something her life as a celebrity had trained her for well. She simply inclined her head slightly, a gesture of formal politeness.
At that moment, Clara appeared at the entrance of the alley, drying her hands on a dish towel. "Joey, why didn't you...? Oh!" Her eyes widened at the sight: her two sons and a stunning young woman who looked like she had stepped off the cover of a magazine. "Hello! I'm sorry, I didn't know you had company, dear."
Joey's panic reached its peak. His mother. His brother. Mai. All there. He felt the ground disappear from under his feet.
It was Mai who, with impressive grace and pragmatism, took control of the situation. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," she said, her voice calm and articulate, stepping forward and offering a polite smile to Clara. "My name is Mai Sakurajima. Joey was kind enough to help me with directions earlier. I was a little lost."
The excuse was simple, plausible. She introduced herself to Clara, completely ignoring Leo's "girlfriend" comment, treating it as the childish teasing it was.
Clara, charmed by the young woman's politeness, beamed. "Oh, how kind of my Joey! Well, please, Mai, join us for lunch. Like Leo said, I made more than enough!"
Joey looked from his beaming mother to Mai, who was now looking at him with a neutral expression he couldn't decipher. He was trapped. There was nowhere to run. He would have to bring the mysterious, stoic, and impossibly beautiful Mai Sakurajima to lunch with his family. The prospect was so terrifying that, for a moment, facing the thugs in the alley seemed like a much easier option.
Meanwhile, Pip, in her hideout on the other side of town, managed a brief reading on her portal locator.
There was an unusual energy fluctuation emanating from an area that, on her rudimentary map of the city, appeared to be a large industrial facility or perhaps a power substation. It was risky, but it could be her only chance to get the necessary charge for a jump attempt.
Zylar, in the detention center, spent Saturday morning staring at the walls of his makeshift cell. His frustration was transforming into a cold determination.
If he couldn't convince them with words, perhaps he needed a demonstration.
He began to mentally analyze the most common electronic components on that planet, based on what he had seen in his captors' equipment. Perhaps he could improvise something, if he got the chance.
The air on that Thursday morning seemed to vibrate with a new and unfamiliar energy as the unlikely group walked through the quiet city streets. Joey felt the weight of every glance like an anchor, anxiety a tight knot in his stomach for being the involuntary center of such a bizarre event. Having Mai Sakurajima, a woman whose beauty and composure were as overwhelming as the presence of a hurricane, walking towards his house for lunch was such a profound violation of his routine and safety zone that he could barely process it.
Behind him, Mai and his mother, Clara, walked side-by-side, and the soft sound of their voices was a counterpoint to the storm in Joey's mind. Clara, with her caring and friendly nature, was clearly charmed and curious.
"So, Mai, you're not from around here, are you?" Clara asked, her tone gentle. "The way you speak is a little different. Are you traveling?"
Mai maintained her polished and mature celebrity facade. A polite smile that didn't quite reach her eyes played on her lips. "You could say that. I had an... unexpected setback on my trip and ended up getting lost. Joey was very kind to help me." She was starving and had nowhere to go, and the offer of a meal was a relief she carefully hid behind her stoic posture.
"Oh, my Joey has a heart of gold, though he sometimes hides from the world," Clara said with an affectionate sigh, glancing at her son's back. "I'm glad he helped you. You can stay for lunch and for as long as you need, dear. Our home is simple, but there's always an extra place at the table."
"You are very kind," Mai replied, her formality a comfortable shield. "I deeply appreciate the hospitality."
Further ahead, Leo, who had been observing his brother with an almost scientific curiosity, finally slowed his pace to walk beside Joey. He gave Joey a playful nudge on the shoulder, a gesture that made Joey instinctively flinch.
"So, man?" Leo began, his voice low and full of barely contained excitement. "Your 'girlfriend' is cool."
"She's not my girlfriend, Leo," Joey muttered, his face burning, unable to make eye contact.
"Right, right," Leo said, not believing a word of it. "But seriously, where did you meet a girl like her? She looks like... one of those movie actresses. And you, you can barely order bread at the bakery without stuttering." The comment wasn't meant to be cruel; it was Leo's teasing, clumsy way of trying to understand what was happening.
Joey just shrugged, feeling exactly as Leo had described him: inadequate. He hated being the center of attention, and Leo's questions felt like spotlights. "I just... helped her. That's all."
"Helped her with what? Escaping a photoshoot?" Leo pressed, a grin on his face. "Dude, you have to tell me the whole story. This is the most interesting thing that's happened to you since you, like, finished that thousand-hour video game."
Joey's discomfort was palpable. He started to fidget with his hands, a nervous habit he couldn't control. He felt as he always did: an inconvenience, a weird mystery his sociable brother was trying to decipher for pure entertainment. He didn't answer, just quickened his pace, wishing he could become invisible—a feeling that, ironically, Mai would understand perfectly.
Leo sighed, realizing he had hit the limit of his brother's interaction capacity for the time being. He shrugged and ran ahead to join his mother's conversation with Mai, leaving Joey in his wake, a silent, anxious satellite orbiting the center of a new and terrifying social galaxy that had just invaded his home. The front door was only a few feet away, looking to Joey like both a refuge and the entrance to a new stage of unknown anxieties.
In the alley beside the library, after the brothers had left, Lyra remained hidden in the abandoned cinema for a long time. The fear of being discovered was intense.
However, the need to check the place where the young human had been the night before propelled her. With extreme caution, she crept to the gap near the boarded-up window.
And there they were: two colorful cereal bars, identical to the one he had given her.
A lump formed in Lyra's throat. It was him. The same scared, but kind human. He had returned. He had cared.
In her world, disinterested acts of kindness were rare outside her innermost circle. This meant more than just food; it was a beacon of hope amidst her despair. She picked up the bars, her heart warmed by an emotion she hadn't felt since she was torn from her home.
Kael, still at his observation post, registered Lyra's discovery. Joey's persistence in helping, even anonymously and clearly uncomfortably for him, was a factor Kael hadn't anticipated. Humans were generally more prone to fear or exploitation of the unknown. Joey was an anomaly within the anomaly.
Kael decided he needed to better understand the young man's motivations.
Meanwhile, Pip, having identified the possible energy source, began planning her incursion into the industrial area. It would be dangerous. She was small, but her clothes and equipment, even with the partially functional camouflage device, would attract attention if she were seen. She would need to act under the cover of night.
Zylar, in his cell, attentively observed his captors' routine, noting the communication devices they used, the electronic locks, the surveillance system. His brilliant engineering mind began to formulate an audacious plan, based on the vulnerabilities he perceived in his captors' "primitive," yet ubiquitous, technology.
Joey, walking home, tried to calm himself, his worries replaying the encounter with Léo. The image of his brother discovering him haunted him. He felt like an outsider even within his own family, guarding secrets they couldn't begin to imagine.
But beneath the fear, which was a constant companion, there was also the memory of the relief he'd felt knowing Pip had retrieved her belongings, and the small, fragile hope that Lyra would find his new food. These successful acts of helping the oppressed brought a quiet, internal satisfaction.
He didn't know which way to turn, a common state for him when faced with too many decisions or uncertainties, but the inertia that had held him captive for so long, the heavy weight of his depression, was slowly beginning to yield to a new and unknown current, a flicker of purpose in his usually aimless existence.
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I'll be redoing the story. Many things will remain, some will change. I hope to count on your feedback to know if you're enjoying the story or want me to change anything. This is my first time creating a story, so I made several mistakes the first time around. I read one of the comments on the chapters and decided to redo the story to make it more pleasant for you all.
If you like the story, I'd appreciate it if you could check out my Patreon. I'll be posting 40 chapters in advance there. I believe this week I'll be able to create the chapters for paying members. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to today as I'm redoing the chapters and deciding what direction to take the story. If you could comment on the chapters with your thoughts, I would love it. Thank you to everyone who added my story to their collection.
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